Just as Oak Park was a leader decades back with its heady experiment in fostering a racially diverse community, there are present-day officials who believe the village can again lead the way in building an environmentally sustainable town.
We find the analogy imperfect, but we admire the passion and the goal. Last week, Oak Park took a demonstrable step toward sustainability when it agreed to an electrical aggregation plan for all residences that will save money for consumers and provide a jolt of necessary support for the fledgling alternative energy marketplace.
In inking a two-year agreement with Integrys Energy Group, village staff says it will drop the electrical supply cost to Oak Parkers by some 25 percent. That is a potential savings of $4.5 million. Concurrently, by investing in renewable energy certificates, we will all be spending our resources on electricity that is generated largely by wind power.
The village board wisely chose to ditch a sincere but poorly explained and underdeveloped staff concept to skim a portion of the savings and use it to fund other green initiatives. While staff has told us this concept was in the broad plans for months, their failure to explain it earlier and more widely left its last-minute exposition feeling like a just-sprung tax. The board agreed and urged staff to bring additional green ideas forward to be considered as part of traditional budget planning.
Oak Park’s determination to lead on eco-issues is right, and it resonates with our residents. We’re looking forward to what is next on this critical opportunity.